Adjustable drafting sectioning instrument



March 31, 1959 LE ROY w. BURGER ADJUSTABLE DRAFTING SECTIONINGINSTRUMENT Filed April 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. LE ROY W.BURGER BY ,QJJ. W

March 31, 1959 LE ROY W. BURGER ADJUSTABLE DRAFTING SECTIONINGINSTRUMENT Filed April 22, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

LEROY W BURGER United States Patent ADJUSTABLE DRAFTING SECTIONINGINSTRUMENT Le Roy W. Burger, Salem, Oreg., assignor of one-tenth toGadget-Of-The-Month 'Club, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation ofCalifornia Application April 22, 1957, Serial No. 654,144 6 Claims. (Cl.3381) Generally speaking, the present invention relates to the draftinginstrument art and, more particularly, relates to an adjustable draftinginstrument for providing stepped movement whereby accurate and rapidsectioning and shading may be easily accomplished.

Applicant is aware of the fact that prior art drafting sectioninginstruments have been developed heretofore and that such prior artdrafting sectioning instruments are disadvantageous for various reasons.Most such prior art arrangements are relatively difiicult to set up andare used in conjunction with a drafting board, which makes it cumbersometo use. This means that the draftsman cannot make good use of hisT-square and triangles which must be removed from the board in order tomake use of the prior art sectioning devices. Thus, it is readilyevident that prior art drafting sectioning instruments are notparticularly well adapted to be used when the sectioning or shadingneeded is fairly limited, since the set-up time required for attachingthe prior art devices to the drafting board would be prohibitive.Another limiting feature of the prior art drafting sectioninginstruments is the poor manipulative means used to provide steppedmovement for the ruler which tend to bind and are not naturallyaccessible to the draftsman.

The present invention was developed primarily to overcome theaforementioned problems and, generally speaking, can be said to'be adrafting instrument cooperable for stepped movement and cooperable forattachment with respect to a straight edge, normally the T-square usedby the draftsman on the drafting board. It consists of a flatlongitudinal base having attachment means for attaching the base to astraight edge and has a plurality of parallel track rods mountedthereon. A carriage which consists of longitudinally spaced rear andforward end members, connected with respect to each other, is slidablymounted on the track rods for stepped movement thereon. Both the rearand forward end members have grip extensions; the grip extension of therear end member is used to impel the carriage forward and thegripextension on' the forward end member is used to return the carriage tothe desired starting point. Adjustable throw stop means, mounted withrespect to the rear end member, is cooperable with a canted lever tolimit the forward travel of the carriage on the track rods. The lever isselectively lockable and mounted on the track rods, between the rear andforward end members, and is cooperable upon selective locking on thetrack rods for limiting the forward travel of the carriage a dist ancepredetermined by the throw stop member which abuts the lever upontravelling a predetermined distance. A duplex of springs which surroundthe track rods and are mounted between the rear and forward end membersare cooperable for urging the lever forward. Upon release of the leverthe springs impel the lever against the inner wall of the forward endmember. A hinged member is attached with respect to the carriage. andcarries a ruler thereon. This ruler is adjustable andpivotallynattachedfor angular settings.

. as shown in Figs. 2, 3, and

"ice

The present invention may be provided with right angle conversion meansfor orienting the base perpendicular to a straight edge.

From the above description of basic and generic forms of the presentinvention, it will be apparent to 'those skilled in the art thatvirtually all of the hereinbefore mentioned prior art problems and/ordisadvantages are substantially entirely eliminated, met and/or overcomein and through use of the present adjustable drafting sectioninginstrument. Y

For example, it is obvious that the present invention may be quickly andeasily set-up with respect toa T-square and, when mounted thereon, it isvery securely fastened thereto in a manner which virtually eliminatesthe possibility that the adjustable drafting sectioning instrument willbecome accidentally disengaged therefrom.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide anadjustable drafting instrument which will enable a draftsman to doaccurate sectioning and shading in a manner which is simple andextremely fast.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustabledrafting sectioning instrument which is relatively inexpensive, easy tooperate and of virtually foolproof construction.

Other and allied objects will be apparent to those skilled in the artafter a careful perusal, examination, and study of the accompanyingillustrations, the present specification, and the appended claims.

To facilitate understanding, reference will be made to the hereinbelowdescribed figures, in which:

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of the present invention attached with respectto a straight edge;

Fig. 2 is a left hand elevational view of the present invention shown inFig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view virtually identical to the view shown in Fig.2--however, with the hinged member and the ruler actuated in the air;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the present invention partly broken away,showing the lever means in selective locked engagement on the track rodsand the stop throw member abutting the lever thereby determining theforward travel of the carriage;

Fig. 5 is a front elevational view, partly broken away, of theadjustable drafting sectioning instrument, as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 1,attached with respect to right angle conversion means for orientationperpendicular to the T-square;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary top plan view of the male attachment member ofthe right angle conversion means which cooperates with the baseattachment means; I

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary top plan view of the right.

angle conversion means which is attached with respect to the base and tothe T-square;

I Fig. 9 is a top plan view of the entire right angle conmember extendedperoperable for attachment with respect-to a straight edge,

such as a T-square 13, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 6.

It consists of a flat longitudinal base 14 having female grooves 15including setscrews 16 at the ends thereof which attach the instrument12 with a straight edge 13,

5; -The base 14 may have" a longitudinal flange 17 that can be used asan alternate straight edge for convenience of the draftsman, althoughnot so limited.

Two parallel track rods 18 are mounted at its end to the support members19 of the base 14 and carries a carriage which consists of a rear endmember 20 and a forward 'end member 21 that are slidably mounted on thetrack rods 18 for stepped movement, as shown in Figs. 1, 4, 5, and 6.'The end members 20 and 21 are longitudinally spaced from each other andare connected by threaded bolts 22 which engage interiorly threadedapertures of the end members 20 and 21. The end members 20 and 21 haveapertures 23 which slidably receive the track rods 18, as bestillustrated by the rear end member 20 in Figs. and 11.

The rear end member has a horizontal thumb grip extension 24 which iscooperable for actuating the carriage forward, and the end member 21 hasa vertical grip extension 25 for actuating the carriage backward.

A selectively lockable, canted lever 29 is slidably mounted on the rods18 adjacent the inner wall of the forward member 21 and is cooperablewith throw stop means for limiting travel of the carriage. Theadjustable throw stop means includes a throw stop member 26, forwardlypassing through the rear member 20, in threaded engagement with a throwadjusting wheel 27, positioned within the recess 28A of the rear member20, as shown in Figs. 1, 4-6, and 10. The throw stop member 26 isattached at its rear end with a prop 28 which is slidably mounted on thetrack rods 18.

The lever 29 is cooperable, upon selective looking on the track rods 18by maintaining pressure thereon and causing it to bind on the track rods18, for limiting the travel of the carriage a distance determined by thethrow member 26 which abuts the lever upon travelling the predetermineddistance, as best illustrated in Fig. 4.

Upon release of the lever 29 from the locked position, a duplex ofspring means 43, surrounding the rods 18 and mounted between the members29 and 21, impel the lever 29 forward against the inner wall of theforward end member 21.

The instrument 12 has a hinged member 30 including a protractor markedthereon, hingedly connected at with respect to the end members 26 and21, and has a ruler 31 pivotally attached at 32 therewith, as best shownin Fig. 11. The ruler 31 has a locking nut 33 which rides within thearcuate slot 34 and locks the ruler 31 at the desired angularrelationship needed for sectioning or shading, as best shown in Fig. l.

The drafting instrument 12 may come provided wtih angle conversionmeans, indicated generally at 36 in Figs. 6 and 9, for orienting thebase 14 perpendicular to the straight edge 13. The right angleconversions means 36 consists of a hypotenuse arm 37 which is pivotallyattached at 38 with respect to an attachment arm 39. The free end of thearm 37 has a male member 40, as shown in Fig. 7, which is inserted intothe groove 15 at the rear end of the base 14 and the arm member 39 alsohas a male member 40 which attaches to the groove 15 at the opposite endof the base 14 thereby securing the base 14 to the angle conversionmeans .36. The attachment arm 39 comes provided with female grooves 41and setscrews 42 which are attached to the T-square 13 thereby firmlyorienting the drafting instrument perpendicular with respect to thestraight edge 13, as shown in Fig. 9.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present invention willoccur to those skilled in the art after a careful study hereof. All suchproperly within the basic spirit, scope and/or teachings of the presentinvention are intended to be included and comprehended herein as fullyas if specifically described, illustrated and claimed.

For example, it is obvious that other'attachment means may be used tomount the base with respect to the straight edge than as illustratedherein.

The exact compositions, configurations, constructions, relativepositionings, and cooperative relationships of the various componentparts of the present invention are not critical, and can be modifiedsubstantially within the spirit of the present invention.

The embodiments of the present invention specifically described andillustrated herein are exemplary only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the present invention, which is to be interpreted in the lightof the prior art and the appended claims, with due consideration for thedoctrine of equivalents.

I claim:

1. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and beingcooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto, comprising: afiat, longitudinal base having attachment means cooperable with astraight edge for attaching said base thereto; two parallel track rodsfixedly mounted at their ends to said base; a carriage consisting oflongitudinally spaced rear end and forward end members slidably mountedon said track rods; said rear end member having a horizontal gripextension for actuating said carriage forward and said forward endmember having a vertical grip extension for actuating said carriage;selectively lockable, canted lever means slidably mounted on said trackrods between said rear end member and said forward end member;adjustable throw stop means including a throw stop member, a throwadjusting wheel positioned partly within said rear end member, with saidthrow stop member forwardly passing through said rear end member inthreaded engagement with said throw adjusting wheel; said lever beingselectively lockably mounted on said track rods for limiting the forwardtravel of said carriage a distance determined by said throw stop memberwhich abuts said lever upon travelling a predetermined distance; springmeans, mounted between said rear and forward end members, urging saidlever forward; a hinged member including a protractor marked thereon,attached to said rear and forward end members opposite said gripextensions, and having an adjustably locking ruler pivotally attachedthereto.

2. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and beingcooperable with a straight edge for atattachment thereto, comprising: aflat, longitudinal base having attachment means cooperable with astraight edge for attaching said base thereto; two parallel track rodsfixedly mounted at their ends to said base; a carriage consisting oflongitudinally spaced rear end and forward end members slidably mountedon said track rods; said rear end member having a horizontal gripextension for actuating said carriage forward and said forward endmember having a vertical grip extension for actuating said carriage;selectively lockable, canted lever means slidably mounted on said trackrods between said rear end member and said forward end member;adjustable throw stop means including a throw stop member, a throwadjusting wheel positioned partly within said rear end member, with saidthrow stop member forwardly passing through said rear end member inthreaded engagement with said throw adjusting wheel; said lever beingselectively lockably mounted on said track rods for limiting the forwardtravel of said carriage a distance determined by said throw stop memberwhich abuts said lever upon travelling a predetermined distance; aduplex of spring means surrounding said track rods and mounted betweensaid rear and said forward end members, urging said lever forward; ahinged member including a protractor marked thereon, attached to saidrear and forward end members opposite said grip extensions, and havingan adjustably locking ruler pivotally attached thereto; angle conversionmeans cooperable with said base and a straight edge for attachmentthereto and for orienting said base in angular relationship with thestraight edge.

3. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and beingcooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto, comprising: aflat longitudinal base having female grooves including set screws at theends thereof and cooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto;two parallel track rods fixedly mounted at their ends to said base; acarriage consisting of longitudinally spaced rear end and forward endmembers slidably mounted on said track rods for stepped movement; saidrear end member having a horizontal grip extension for actuating saidcarriage forward and said forward end member having a vertical gripextension for actuating said carriage backward; selectively lockable,canted lever means slidably mounted on said track rods adjacent theinner wall of said forward end member; adjustable throw stop meansincluding a throw stop member, a throw adjusting wheel positioned partlywithin said rear end member, with said throw stop member forwardlypassing through said rear end member in threaded engagement with saidthrow adjusting wheel; said lever being selectively lockably mounted onsaid track rods for limiting the forward travel of said carriage adistance determined by said throw stop member which abuts said leverupon travelling a predetermined distance; a duplex of spring meanssurrounding said track rods and mounted between said rear and saidforward end members, urging said lever forward; a hinged memberincluding a protractor marked thereon, attached to said rear and forwardend members opposite said grip extensions, and having an adjustablylocking ruler pivotally attached thereto; right angle conversion meanshaving attachment means cooperable with said base and a straight edgefor attachment thereto and for orienting said base perpendicular to thestraight edge.

4. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and beingcooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto, comprising: aflat longitudinal base having female grooves including set screws at theends thereof and cooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto;two parallel track rods fixedly mounted at their ends to said base; acarriage consisting of longitudinally spaced rear end and forward endmembers slidably mounted on said track rods for stepped movement; saidrear end member having a horizontal thumb grip extension for actuatingsaid carriage forward and said forward end member having a vertical gripextension for actuating said carriage backward; selectively lockable,canted lever means slidably mounted on said track rods adjacent theinner wall of said forward end member; adjustable throw stop meansincluding a throw stop member, a throw adjusting wheel positioned partlywithin said rear end member, with said throw stop member forwardlypassing through said rear end member in threaded engagement with saidthrow adjusting wheel; said lever being selectively lockably mounted onsaid track rods for limiting the forward travel of said carriage adistance determined by said throw stop member which abuts said leverupon travelling a predetermined distance; a duplex of spring meanssurrounding said track rods and mounted between said rear and saidforward end members, urging said lever forward; a hinged memberincluding a protractor marked thereon, attached to said rear and forwardend members opposite said grip extensions, and having an adjustablylocking ruler pivotally attached thereto.

5. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and. beingcooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto, comprising: aflat longitudinal base having female grooves including set screws at theends thereof and cooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto;two parallel track rods fixedly mounted at their ends to said base; saidbase having a longitudinal flange adjacent one of said track rods; acarriage consisting of longitudinally spaced rear end and forward endmembers slidably mounted on said track rods for stepped movement; saidrear end member having a horizontal thumb grip extension for actuatingsaid carriage forward and said forward end member having a vertical gripextension for actuating said carriage backward; selectively lockable,canted lever means slidably mounted on said track rods adjacent theinner wall of said forward end member; adjustable throw stop meansincluding a throw stop member, a throw adjusting wheel positioned partlywithin said rear end member, with said throw stop member forwardlypassing through said rear end member in threaded engagement with saidthrow adjusting wheel; said lever being selectively lockably mounted onsaid track rods for limiting the forward travel of said carriage adistance determined by said throw stop member which abuts said leverupon travelling a predetermined distance; a duplex of spring meanssurrounding said track rods and mounted between said rear and saidforward end members, urging said lever forward; a hinged memberincluding a protractor marked thereon, attached to said rear and forwardend members opposite said grip extensions, and having an adjustablylocking ruler pivotally attached thereto; right angle conversion meanshaving attachment means cooperable with said base and a straight edgefor attachment thereto and for orienting said base perpendicular to thestraight edge.

6. A drafting instrument having stepped movement means and beingcooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto, comprising: aflat longitudinal base having female grooves including set screws at theends thereof and cooperable with a straight edge for attachment thereto;two parallel track rods fixedly mounted at their ends to said base; acarriage consisting of longitudinally spaced rear end and forward endmembers slidably mounted on said track rods for stepped movement; saidrear end member having a horizontal thumb grip extension for actuatingsaid carriage forward and said forward end member having a vertical gripextension for actuating said carriage backward; selectively lockable,canted lever means slidably mounted on said track rods adjacent theinner wall of said forward end member; adjustable throw stop meansincluding a throw stop member, a throw adjusting wheel positioned partlywithin said rear end member, with said throw stop member forwardlypassing through said rear end member in threaded engagement with saidadjusting wheel; said lever being selectively lockably mounted on saidtrack rods for limiting the forward travel of said carriage a distancedetermined by said throw stop member which abuts said lever upontravelling a predetermined distance; a duplex of spring meanssurrounding said track rods and mounted between said rear and saidforward end members, urging said lever forward; a hinged memberincluding a protractor marked thereon, attached to said rear and forwardend members opposite said grip extensions, and having an adjustablylocking ruler pivotally attached thereto; right angle conversion meanshaving female grooves including set screws partly therethrough andcooperable with said attachment means of said base and a straight edgefor attachment thereto and for orienting said base perpendicular to thestraight edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS669,239 Hill Mar. 5, 1901 1,117,092 Riedel Nov. 10, 1914 2,089,757Nieuwkamp Aug. 10, 1937 2,239,323 Hicks Apr. 27, 1941

